Watermelons crushed by JCB in slum as part of 'Encroachment Removal Campaign', bulldozer runs over livelihood of poor shopkeeper:Right in front of the ADM's residence, a municipal JCB brutally crushed the hopes of a poor watermelon seller. Senior municipal officials had issued instructions to clear the encroachment.

News Topical, Digital Desk : A shocking image of administrative misconduct has emerged from Basti district in Uttar Pradesh. In the name of an anti-encroachment drive, the municipal administration has demonstrated its power against the poor who earn their living by selling fruit on the sidewalks. The latest incident occurred at Company Bagh intersection, a highly-VIP area within the Kotwali police station area, where a municipal JCB, directly opposite the ADM's residence, brutally crushed the hopes of a poor watermelon seller.

Senior municipal officials had issued a directive to clear the city of encroachments. When the team arrived at Company Bagh to comply with this directive, they encountered a poor shopkeeper setting up a watermelon stall on the roadside. Without any prior warning or sensitivity, the team immediately began seizing the shopkeeper's goods using a JCB bulldozer.

'Didn't even give me a chance to remove my belongings'

The most disturbing aspect of the incident was that instead of manually picking up the watermelons lying on the ground or giving the shopkeeper a chance to remove them, the administration began lifting them with the JCB's claw and loading them into a tractor-trolley. In the process, more than half of the fruits were crushed and destroyed on the spot. Images of this inhumanity and authoritarianism by Municipal Corporation EO Angad Gupta are now rapidly going viral on social media, sparking public outrage.

The shopkeeper kept pleading for his livelihood

Eyewitnesses at the scene said that the encroachment action was being carried out under the supervision and orders of the Executive Officer himself, and the poor shopkeepers pleaded with folded hands for their livelihoods, but the inhumane administration showed no mercy. Passersby were stunned to see this strange action taking place right in front of the ADM's residence.

This action has raised serious questions about the intentions of the municipal corporation and local administration. Does removing encroachments mean destroying the belongings of the poor? Are JCBs used in this manner to remove permanent encroachments by large showrooms and influential people? Doesn't this kind of treatment of a fruit vendor sitting on the ground amount to inhumanity?

The video is now viral on social media

After videos and photos of this incident, which took place in the Kotwali police station area, went viral on social media, local residents are deeply angry. Local citizens say that the administration has the right to improve the situation, but trampling on the livelihood of the poor in this manner is unjustified. Currently, this action has created an atmosphere of panic among small traders who set up shops on the footpath. It remains to be seen whether the district's higher officials will take cognizance of this inhumane act and take action against the employees involved. However, after public protests, Executive Officer Angad Gupta, who oversaw the encroachment removal, has now come to his own defense. He has issued a show-cause notice against the mate, demanding a response, and has issued an ultimatum of action if he fails to do so.